Ghana’s Presidential Jet, the Dassault Falcon 900EX EASy, has reportedly been grounded in France for four months beyond its scheduled return date due to extensive maintenance issues.
The aircraft, which has been undergoing servicing, was found to have severe corrosion in its fuel tanks. In addition, the air intake plug receptacle of the second engine was also corroded, contributing to the prolonged delay.
A major component, the jet’s turbofan, had to be replaced entirely after assessments deemed the original beyond repair.
This is not the first time the presidential aircraft has suffered setbacks.
The Falcon 900EX has faced a growing list of maintenance issues in recent years, raising concerns about its airworthiness and reliability.
Commenting on the development, a security analyst, Emmanuel Kotin, has repeated his description of the country’s presidential jet as a flying coffin.
According to him, the current state of the aircraft makes it a security risk for anyone who uses it.
“Six years ago, I described it as a flying coffin. That is what it is. Let’s put politics aside, let’s treat this as a national emergency,” he said on the KeyPoints on July 12.
Mr Kotin was contributing to discussions on the state of the presidential jet.
This follows recent revelation by the country’s Defence Minister, Dr Edward Omane Boamah that the aircraft is in a bad state.
Earlier, a document obtained by 3news.com which is a detailed status report submitted to Parliament, revealed that the Falcon 900EX was undergoing its mandatory 24-Month/1600 Flight Hour inspection. During this process, technicians discovered:
- Severe corrosion in the aircraft’s left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) feeder tanks, as well as the centre wing tanks.
- Corrosion and damage on Engine No. 2’s air intake plug receptacle and turbofan, which had to be completely replaced.
- Intermittent tripping of the starter-generator on Engine No. 2.
- A series of deferred defects accumulated over previous operations that required manufacturer-level repair.
Mr Kotin noted that with all the details provided by the Defence Minister, “nobody would advise the President to use the jet.
“We need a jet befitting of our status as a sovereign country,” he stressed.
